Father's Day
by cheri1
Summary: Part of my Something Old and New Series. While running an errand for the Doctor, his daughter Hope plans to get him something special for Father's Day. FINISHED.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is part of my Something Old and New series. Please look at my profile to see the story order.

Chapter One

The Doctor stood in the kitchen of his house preparing breakfast. His wife, Rain, had left before him, running some errands and would be gone for several hours so the Doctor was making himself some breakfast before starting his day. He heard some barking and turned to see the corgis Anne and Elizabeth were entering the room followed by his nine year old daughter, Hope. It was Saturday so Hope had the day off from the Academy. The Doctor was assembling the items for breakfast and Hope stopped to see what he was doing.

"Making breakfast for us?" she asked him.

"Making breakfast for me," the Doctor teased with a twinkle in his eyes. "Dog food is over there in the dog bowls. Enjoy," he added, pointing to the two yellow plastic food bowls near the doorway.

Hope giggled and picked up a carton of eggs from the counter and began to walk away with it.

"I'm sorry but did you just pilfer my poultry just then, did you just?" the Doctor said while Hope giggled louder. "Did you just escape with my eggy embryos, did you just?"

"I'm a growing girl," Hope said, turning to him. "I need protein."

"And I'm an old fart and need protein as well. So gimme," the Doctor said, pointing to the empty space on the counter.

"Only if you cook me some," Hope said.

The Doctor pretended to mull that over before giving a phony exasperated sigh.

"Oh alright, I s'pose I can spare ONE egg," he said to her.

He frowned when he beckoned to his daughter and she didn't move.

"C'mere, I have to cook it before you eat it," he finally said.

"Can you cook things?" Hope said.

"Well, yes…"

"Sure? I don't want Mum to come home and find the house in flames."

"Just give me the eggs, Cheeky," he said while Hope giggled.

Hope handed the eggs back to him before doing her morning chore of feeding the dogs. She went to get the dog food while the dogs, sensing her intentions, eagerly followed her. By the time she returned the Doctor was frying eggs and bacon and making some toast for the two of them.

"I need your assistance this morning," the Doctor said aloud, sensing his daughter had entered the room. "Since you aren't at Academy today, I need you to run an errand for me."

The Doctor heard his daughter's quiet "Ooo!" before hearing the sound of the dry dog food hitting the bowl.

"Am I on a mission then?" he heard Hope said.

The Doctor grinned. Hope wanted to be a Time Lady more than anything and assist him like everyone else. It warmed his hearts that his daughter admired him so much.

"Yes, my companion," he said, turning the eggs. "I need several items and you must not only procure them but guard them with your life on the journey back. If you fail, there shall be spankings galore."

"You wouldn't spank me, Daddy," Hope said.

"Oh alright, fine," the Doctor said, enjoying father, daughter time. "If you fail, there will beeeee…severe reprimands and sittings in the corner for several hours in a straitjacket for something like that. Anyhow, it will be most grave if you fail me."

"Yes, sir," Hope said, saluting him.

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After breakfast, Hope went to the garage. The Doctor had given her a list of items to get from the grocery store that he had used up making breakfast. She needed to get eggs, bacon and milk but she was also planning a special trip. Sunday was Father's Day and Hope was going to get something special for her father. She grabbed her purple bike with black seat and opened the door beside the garage door that led to the outside. She walked her bike outside, shut the door and walked it down the short driveway to the road. She adjusted the strap of the backpack she was wearing and looked both ways before she hopped onto her bike and headed off towards city center.

She was halfway there when she came across Alan walking his teacup chihuahua, Speck. Alan froze and stared at her with wide eyes, mimicking fear.

"Don't hit me, tiny motorist," he called out when she got closer.

Hope giggled and maneuvered her way up on the pavement at an intersection. She sped up for a moment and then hit the brakes, stopping short a few feet from her uncle and his dog.

"Be glad you stopped before hitting us," Alan said sternly. "You don't want me haunting you for eternity. Having said that, are you running away from home and can I throw a party if you are?"

"I'm on a mission for the Doctor," Hope said with an air of gravitas.

Alan stared at her intently while Hope giggled. He sniffed a bit and continued to stare.

"I'm a Time Lady," Hope said just as importantly. "I have better things to do than walk a silly dog. Bye now."

She started to move out when Alan seized the handlebars of her bike with his free hand and stopped her.

"When Brother goes out on a mission, there's someone to stop him waiting in the wings. I suppose I shall have to be your nemesis for the afternoon then so it will seem real to you," he said, letting go.

"And what's that, your attack dog?" Hope said, pointing to Speck.

Alan picked up Speck and pointed to her with his free hand.

"This attack dog, as you put it, can pee all over you at my command so I would show respect."

"Yeah, sure. Anyway, gotta go, mission for Daddy, you know," she said as she walked her bike off the pavement.

Alan stood there, Speck in hand, and watched as she rode away.

"Come on, Speckdoodle, let's go pay a visit to Brother," he said as he sat his dog down on the pavement.

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The Doctor was inside his TARDIS lab, tinkering with a project, when the TARDIS suddenly let out a rumble. He stopped what he was doing to listen and realized she was telling him someone was knocking on the front door of the house. He took off his glasses, put them in his pocket and hurried out of the TARDIS. When he entered the garage, he sped out and opened the door.

"Do you know what your daughter is doing?" Alan said to him gravely.

The Doctor froze.

"Well, I sent her on an errand," he said hesitantly. "Is she robbing a bank then?"

"Nah, she's on her errand, I s'pose," he said cheerfully. "I just wanted to worry you for a moment and think she's doing bad things. Anyhow, I have news for you."

"You're undergoing the shock treatment therapy?"

"Funny, really funny," Alan said dryly while the Doctor sniggered. "No. My spousal unit is auditioning for Gallifrey's Got Talent," he said proudly.

"For what?" the Doctor said.

"What do you think? Singing."

The Doctor nodded.

"Well, I suppose I'll have Rain audition as well just to irritate you," he said.

"P'eh, what could she do that would be impressive to the judges?"

"She can throw her legs up over her shoulders during oral sex."

The Doctor kept a passive face while Alan studied him.

"You're lying," he said.

"Nope, not at all," the Doctor said.

"Prove it. We get together for group sex and she does that at some point during the night," Alan said.

"Nah, not interested," the Doctor said.

He grinned when Alan snorted at that and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Cheer up, Brother. I wouldn't dream of robbing you of the right to boast about your wife's singing abilities to the entire planet," he said.

"Yeah, right," Alan muttered while the Doctor went into the kitchen to get them something to drink.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Ten minutes after talking to Alan, Hope stopped in front of the grocery store that her family sometimes shopped at when they needed emergency supplies. In addition to groceries, the store did carry some toiletries and household supplies and books and knicknacks. Hope had a credit stick with some credits she had left over from her allowance. She wanted to get her father something special but she wasn't sure what he would like. But first things first. She secured her bike to a rack beside the automatic doors and went inside.

She found the eggs and milk and was just about to go get the bacon from another refrigerated case when she heard two familiar voices. Smiling, she followed the voices towards the back of the shop and saw Rose and Jackie standing together near the laundry detergent.

"This is on sale, mum," Rose said as she held out a bottle of Snap Detergent. "It's forty credits cheaper."

"I don't care, I'm going to buy my usual detergent, it gets my clothes clean," Jackie said, pointing to a bottle of Breeze detergent on the shelf. "I don't know if that will do the job."

"Wow, what an interesting conversation you're having."

Rose turned around when she heard the sarcastic remark and grinned at Hope's eye roll.

"This is what happens when you become an adult," she said to Hope. "You have fascinating conversations like this."

"Remind me not to grow up then," Hope said before accepting hugs from her and Jackie. "What are you doing besides arguing?"

"Oh, it's not arguing," Rose said. "Just disagreeing. Mum and me are spending some time together. What are you doing?"

"I'm on an important mission for Daddy," Hope said, thrusting her chest out.

"Ooo, you are? Does the mission involve milk and eggs then?" Rose said with feigned amazement.

"I must get these items for Daddy," Hope said, sitting the milk down on the floor and handing her the list. "If I fail, bad things will happen."

"What sort of bad things, lack of breakfast?" Jackie said as she peered over Rose's shoulder at the list. Why didn't he move his lazy bum and get this himself?"

"Because Daddy's busy doing important things," Hope said. "I'm his faithful companion."

Rose laughed when Jackie rolled her eyes at that.

"Is this what he did to you then?" Jackie said to Rose. "Make you go and shop for him because he was too important to do it himself?"

"Um…no, actually I would have enjoyed getting breakfast things. I had to run away from Cybermen and Daleks most of the time," Rose replied as she handed the list back to her neice.

"Hey, I need your help, Aunt Rose. I wanna get something for Daddy for Father's Day, what do I get him?"

Rose's face went slack while Jackie watched her expectantly.

"Ummmm…" she said. "Blimey, that's a tough one. I really don't know the answer to that."

"But you're married to his clone. What does he want?"

"Antidepressants and a lobotomy, that's what he should get," Jackie muttered before Rose's glare silenced her.

"Our children are taking Alan to a restaurant," Rose said, turning back to Hope. "They had the same problem and just decided that food would make him happy. Why not do the same for your dad? He loves food, trust me."

"Hmmm…maybe I will, thanks Aunt Rose."

"Rose, tell her your good news," Jackie said, nudging her daughter.

"Oh! I'm going to audition for Gallifrey's Got Talent next week," Rose said to her.

Hope's eyes widened.

"Ooo…are you and Uncle Alan going to do a nude dance?" she said.

"Uh…no," Rose said with a wry grin while her niece giggled. "And don't tell him that because he'll get ideas. No, I'm singing. Alan encouraged me to do it."

"Ooo…I hope you win," Hope said.

"Me too," Rose said. "I have to tell your family about it. Unless Alan gets to them first."

"I saw him walking Speck when I was coming here," Hope said.

"My guess is he was walking to the Doctor's house to tell him," Jackie said. "He never lets you say anything; he has to be the one to tell everyone's business."

"Not always," Rose said defensively. "Anyway, why don't we give you a lift back to your house? Mum is heading home anyway."

Hope nodded. She hurried to get the bacon before spending the rest of the time with her Grandmother and Aunt.

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When Jackie reached her house, Hope unloaded her bike from the back of her people carrier, put her backpack on her back and walked her bike back over to her house while Rose helped her mother carry her groceries into the house. Once her bike was put away, she opened the door leaving into the living room and froze when she saw Alan sitting on the sofa with Speck on his lap.

"Zo!" he said with a German accent, "Ve meet again, little girl."

"Go away, Dweeb," Hope said, closing the door behind her. "This is our house."

"No, it's mine. I'm genetically identical to your father which means anything that belongs to him belongs to me and that makes you my slave so fetch me food, slave."

"Go away, Uncle Alan," Hope said, walking past him.

"No!" Alan called out as Hope walked into the kitchen. "I own this house and you and everything else on the planet! I will not be moved!"

Hope giggled to herself as she put her backpack on the kitchen table. Anne and Elizabeth ran into the room, wagging their tails as she unzipped it and took out the food. When she turned, Alan was standing in the doorway with Speck in hand.

"You thought you could escape me, little girl. I am more clever than you know! You will never open the fridge door and…"

He trailed off and feigned surprise when the Doctor tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to look at him.

"Hello, Diabolical Brother, I am here to save my companion and prevent you from doing evil things to her," he said while Hope giggled and took the food to the fridge.

"But…she must be stopped," Alan said to his brother while Hope put the food in the fridge. "I wanna stop her, I wanna be bad."

"Too late, she's completed her mission," the Doctor said when Hope shut the fridge door. "You lost."

"No! I never loooose!" Alan whined while the Doctor winked at his daughter. "Curses, you foul Time Lord. I shall have my revenge and…"

"Hello?"

"Ooo, spousal unit!" Alan said when he heard Rose call out to them as she stood at the front door. "Forget evil things, I must kiss my wife. Excuuuuse me!"

"So did you have any trouble besides my evil brother?" the Doctor said to Hope when Alan left the room.

"No, I completed your mission, Doctor," Hope said, saluting him.

"No salutes, but I'm glad you completed the mission. There's a good girl, eh?" he said as he patted her on the head.

He smiled when Hope beamed at that.

"Well, what say you and I entertain your aunt and uncle until Mummy comes home, eh?" he said.

Hope nodded and the Doctor tousled her hair before they walked back into the living room.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

(An hour later…)

Rain smiled as she opened the front door and entered her house with groceries. She stopped when Alan waved at her cheerfully from the sofa.

"Why am I not surprised that you are here?" she said as she waved to Rose.

"Because I am him and he is me and I own everything he owns," Alan said, pointing to the Doctor who was sititng in a chair beside the sofa.

"Guess again, Bucko," Rain said, shutting the door while the Doctor and Hope walked over to greet her.

She accepted their kisses and handed the sack of groceries to her daughter before telling everyone that she needed to go upstairs and freshen up. Hope walked to the kitchen with the groceries while the Doctor followed his wife upstairs. Alan watched him and watched Hope go before he looked at Rose.

"Everyone's gone…so…sex on the sofa then?" he said to her.

"I don't think they'd approve," Rose said dryly.

"Could be kinky."

"Down, boy," Rose said while Alan sniggered.

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"So…how was your day, love?" Rain said after she and the Doctor entered their bedroom and she slipped her high heels off.

"Well, it was sorta, kinda productive until the inlaws showed up," the Doctor said, leaning against the bureau while Rain shut the bedroom door and began undressing. "I did send the child to the shop to resupply for breakfast though."

"Oh?" Rain said with a grin while she took her earrings out. "And why couldn't you do it, Thete?"

The Doctor feigned surprise.

"You do know who I am, yeah?" he said.

"Um…you're…a lazy bum who sends people to do the jobs you should be doing?" Rain asked sweetly.

"I'm the Doctor."

"Yeah…I figured that out long ago, dearest. What's that got to do with anything," Rain teased as he laid her earrings down on the bureau.

The Doctor pointed to himself.

"I…am the Doctor. I am in charge. I…have companions. Their job is to go and do for me. The daughter…wants to be a companion so this is practice for her."

"You," Rain said, pointing to her husband, "are a lazy bum who wanted to sit on your butt and do nothing while conning your daughter into getting what you should have gotten in the first place. You…manipulate people."

"Um…yeah, I do, yeah," the Doctor said.

He giggled when Rain playfully swatted his arm.

"Rose has some good news by the way. Not sure if I should tell you before she does," the Doctor said, eyeing his wife's body while she slipped off her skirt and blouse and opened her drawer to get t-shirt and shorts.

"I think you should let her tell it, Thete. You know, giving those companions jobs to do and all that."

She laughed and ran when the Doctor tried to pinch her butt. Rain was about to walk back to the bureau when they heard a knock at the door, followed by their daughter calling through the door for them. The Doctor glanced at his wife and she nodded. He nodded in return and walked over to the door while Rain pulled out a pair of black shorts and a white t-shirt. The Doctor opened the door slightly to make sure it was only Hope and let her in when he saw no one was around.

"Hello, Mummy," Hope said, walking over to Rain while the Doctor shut the door.

"Hello, Baby, I heard you were conned into doing an errand today," Rain said.

"I was on a mission for the Doctor," Hope said proudly.

"So I heard," Rain said while the Doctor feigned innocence.

"I wanna talk to you in private, Mummy," Hope said.

Rain chuckled when the Doctor bent over and put a hand to his ear as his head hovered two inches over his daughter's head. Hope turned to look at him and the Doctor immediately straightened up and put his hand down to his side.

"It's about you so you can't listen," Hope said.

"Moi?" the Doctor said, pointing to himself.

"Yeah, so go away and go play with Uncle Alan or something," Hope said, playfully poking him in the stomach.

Rain laughed when the Doctor spun around, jogged to the door and flung it open.

"I'M GONNA HAVE PLAYTIME WITH ALAN!" he yelled before heading out and shutting the door behind him.

Hope giggled with her mother when they heard Alan yell out, "PLAYTIME WITH BROTHER, MY FAVORITE!" from somewhere downstairs.

"Those two make quite the pair," Rain said to her daughter. "Okay, so what's the big secret about Daddy then?"

"I wanna get him something for Father's Day but what do I get him?" Hope said.

Rain froze, thrown off by her question for a moment.

"Well…I suppose anything you do would make him happy, Baby," she said as she picked her hairbrush up from the bureau. "Actually, I think he'd just prefer to spend time with you and your sisters and brother and that would be enough."

"I know, I just wanted to do something special for him," Hope said with a weary sigh.

"Make him a card. He'd love that more than if you went out and bought something for him. He'd treasure something handmade from you. To be honest, I wouldn't know what you could buy him that he doesn't already have. The closets and attic in the TARDIS are jam packed with stuff he probably doesn't even remember he has. But something you made, he would love that."

"What are you going to do for him, Mommy?"

"Um…probably fix him his favorite things to eat and spend time with him. He's a simple man, Hope. He values being with us above anything else. His family is his greatest treasure so that's why he would just love spending some time with you. That's my advice. You have some allowance and you could spend it on something but I think something you make would make him very, very happy. Okay?"

"Okay," Hope said, nodding.

Rain patted her on the head and gave her a sideways hug. She quickly brushed her long, dark hair back into place and the two of them walked out the door. As they walked downstairs, they paused on the stairs when they saw the Doctor and Alan chasing each other around in a tight circle.

"Wheee, playtime with Brother is fun!" Alan squealed as he ran.

"Have they been doing this since my husband left the bedroom?" Rain asked Rose while her daughter giggled at her father and uncle's antics.

"No, they did it when they heard the door opening and you coming towards the stairs," Rose said, gesturing to the two adult men before her.

"Aw, you told her," Alan said as he and the Doctor stopped running. "I was hoping she'd think we'd been doing this for ages."

"I guessed you weren't because if you had, you'd have been huffing and puffing like the lazy, flabby person you are," Rain said sweetly as she and her daughter came down the stairs.

Hope giggled when Alan stuck his tongue out at her and he and the Doctor walked back to the sofa.

"So…the Doctor tells me you have good news?" Rain said to Rose while she headed for a chair.

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After Rose and Alan left, Rain distracted her husband and convinced him to go into the TARDIS with her for a relaxing dip in the pool when she realized Hope was going to make a card for her father. After gather up a large sheet of unlined paper and her crayons, Hope sat at the kitchen table and stared at the blank sheet of paper, trying to think of something to do. She sighed and walked over to the fridge. She poured herself a glass of milk and put everything away before taking the glass back to the table. She selected a black crayon, folded the paper in half so it resembled a greeting card and wrote I LOVE YOU in big bold letters on the front of the card. Then she selected a red crayon and drew a valentine heart under it. Then she was stumped again and took a swig of milk while she thought of something else to do. She stared at the card for a moment before she opened it up. She went and got a pencil from a nearby desk and took it back to the table. She sat down and thought for a moment before writing…

Daddy,

I'm rubbish at this. So just telling you I love you and happy father's day.

Hope.

She sighed, disappointed with herself as she closed the front of the card. She picked up her milk and drank it while she cleaned up her mess.

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(Sunday morning…)

The Doctor stepped outside into the backyard and breathed deeply; taking in some fresh air while he did a few morning stretches. Today, he was planning to work on his TARDIS, updating some of her software and do a few experiments. He looked over his shoulder when he heard the patio door sliding open and smiled at his daughter when she and the dogs came outside. He noticed that his daughter had one hand behind her back and she didn't turn to shut the door while she walked towards him.

"Shouldn't you shut the door?" the Doctor reminded her gently.

He frowned when Hope brought her other hand around and held out the card to him, backside up so he couldn't see what was on the front. The Doctor took it from her and examined the blank back of the card while Hope turned to close the door. Then he turned it over and his expression lit up with delight when he saw what was written there. Hope waited and watched with a touch of nervousness while the Doctor opened up the card and silently read what was there. He ignored the dogs running around him while he read the words with a smile on his face.

"I didn't put much in it, I really didn't know what to say," Hope said quickly when her father didn't say anything.

"On the contrary, Daughter, I believe you put just enough and said enough into this card," the Doctor said before walking over to her and embracing her. "And I forgot it was Father's Day today, scatterbrained, me. Thank you for reminding me and thank you heaps for the card. I love it!"

"I love you, Daddy," Hope said, embracing him tightly.

"And I love you," the Doctor said. "And now that I know what day it is, I suppose I'll have to hurry and finish my tasks since I'm sure you lot will be taking me somewhere to eat tonight. So…would you assist your old fart of a father in finishing his work?"

"Yes, sir!" Hope said with a salute.

"Hm, I'll have to drum it into your head about saluting. But no matter, come with me and we'll spend some father/daughter time together."

Hope smiled, took her father's free hand and they and the dogs walked back into the house.

THE END.


End file.
